Only Once

Chapter 1

The room filled with sunlight, shining against the two bodies who filled the hotel room bed. The sheets askew, limbs escaping from them.

Scott woke then, stretching out, hiding his eyes from the blinding sunlight. Looking around, he noticed the woman in the bed next to him. Her brown hair looked wild from the activities of the night before.
What was her name? he thought. Isabelle, that was it.
Reaching out, Scott brushed some hair neatly away from her face and behind her ear. She stirred then. One of her blue eyes opened, looking around, as if inspecting her surroundings. When her eye found Scott, a naked stranger directly across from her, the other eye popped open as well.

Sitting up abruptly from the bed, Isabelle seemed to notice her own state of undress. Her cheeks turned scarlet as she pulled the sheet that was tangled around her torso to once again cover her bosom.
With a quick motion, she brushed her hair behind her ear as Scott had done moments earlier.
"Where are my clothes?" Her head throbbed from the night before, traces of alcohol still making their way through her system.
I shouldn't have drank so much last night, I could have prevented this.
"I was just thinking the same about mine," Scott replied, running a hand through his unruly brown hair.
She noticed then his piercing eyes, a colour not defined. Streaks of green, flecks of brown, and even what looked like a circle of blue.
She looked away then, this was not right. She should not be getting lost in a naked strangers eyes, not when she had someone back home.

Scott himself was looking over the hazy details of the night before, just as it seemed Isabelle was doing. Flashes of the night before came back to him: sweat, the feel of her soft lips against his, his name being called out, and swimming. That's where it must have started, the beach right outside of his room at the resort.
"I think I know where our clothes are," Scott told Isabelle. She nodded shyly in response.
Scott stood from the bed, walking towards where he kept his suit case. Slowly, he put on a pair of briefs, figuring it would be easier to retrieve the clothes without being charged for public indecency.
He felt her eyes on him then, turning, he flashed her a small grin. However, the gesture did not seem to be appreciated, as the beautiful stranger turned abruptly away.
"I think they're outside," Scott told her.
Isabelle groaned, covering her face.
"Oh god," she mumbled. Scott's smile faltered then, realizing this beautiful woman with the unruly dark brown hair was ashamed of the night before.
"I'll just go check..." He told her, walking to the door.
He left her alone in the room, stepping onto the sand that lead to the beach outside. Looking around, he knew his assumption had been right. His, and what he guessed to be her clothes littered the resort's beach.
His feet burned stepping through the sand, but he ignored it and moved quickly; sure going back in with no clothes was not an option.
He stepped around the sand, picking up underwear and shirts, pants and shoes. He collected them all in his arms, content he had gotten everything.
Returning to the room, he noticed Isabelle had not moved from her spot on his bed. The sheets still pulled tightly to her chest; she looked although she were in shock.

"Thank you," she said slowly as Scott handed her the clothes. She rapped an arm around the clothes, still holding fiercely to the sheet around her.
"I'll leave you," Scott paused. "To get dressed."
Isabelle nodded as he retreated to the bathroom with a handful of his own fresh clothes.
She relaxed slightly, letting her shoulders hang.  Slowly, still cautious, she stepped out from the bed. Isabelle rummaged through the clothes, she put on her sandals, dress, bra and great, no underwear. With her luck, it was probably long gone in the ocean by now.
She stepped over to where she saw Scott recover clothes from earlier. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she pulled open the drawer. She sighed in relief when it opened silently.
She rummaged through the drawers contents, finding what she needed. She slipped on the clean pair of grey briefs; they were a little too big, but they would have to do.
Scott knocked from the bathroom, "you dressed yet?"
"No, give me a few more minutes!" Isabelle yelled frantically. A sigh of relief escaped her when he didn't press further.
She ran her hands through her hair, trying her best to make it look like less of a mess. When this proved undoable, she dropped her hands and ran from the room. Making sure to be careful to make minimal noise with the door, Isabelle slipped from the room, hoping never to see Scott again.
She made her way to the elevator next, she hoped the shame she felt wasn't evident on her face.

Isabelle slid the room key, unlocking the door. She was happy to find it had still been in the enclosed pocket of her dress.
When she entered, she picked up her phone, which had no doubt been ringing the whole night. Her thought was proven correct when she powered on the phone, mixed texts and calls from her long-time boyfriend, Michael.
Guilt had filled her entire body, making her stomach knot with anxiety. She pressed down on his number, and held the phone to her ear.
Relief filled Isabelle as the familiar sound of his voice mail filled her ears.
"Hey Michael, sorry I didn't pick up last night. My phone was dead. I'll be leaving for my flight home soon, I love you and can't wait to see you."

Scott stood, pressed to the bathroom door. He'd been waiting for her to be done, for what? Twenty minutes? 
Knocking again, he called to her, "Isabelle, are you almost done?"
He found it odd when he received no answer, and slowly opened the door to his room.
Looking around, he realized she had left.
Scott sighed, he had been hoping to spend some time with her. Even if it was only a one-time thing, he felt he should at least buy her breakfast. He wanted to talk to her more, from what he remembered of last night, she had been funny, and easy to talk to.
He crossed his arms, looking around the room, hoping for some trace of her. However, the only thing he found was the unmade bed, where their bodies had tangled together the night before. Along with another few minor things of course, like the memories in his mind, and the now fading marks that covered his back, and what he now noticed, the underwear that he had thought he'd given her. It laid on the floor near the window, Scott realized it must have never made its way back to her.
Scooping it up, he tossed it into his suitcase. For what reason, he wasn't sure.
Just so the cleaning service won't have to find them, he told himself.
It was just a one night stand, he should be happy. That's what all men wanted when they went on trips, and he had gotten just that.
That's all it would be, he would only see her, feel her, and hear her just that once. That's all they were supposed to have, just the one time together.